Too Many Mistakes
by BlackFox12
Summary: Zoey’s made a lot of mistakes. Someone’s ready to forgive her, but only if she’s punished first


**Too Many Mistakes**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything from the House of Night series and I'm not making any money from this fic

**Summary:** Zoey's made a lot of mistakes. Someone's ready to forgive her, but only if she's punished first

**Warning(s):** Spanking; spoilers up to book three of the House of Night series; slight swearing

**Author's Note:** Sorry for taking so long to update anything... I hope this story makes up for that

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Even though Nala was lying curled up on her pillow, purring sleepily, Zoey still couldn't feel relaxed enough to fall asleep. She'd lost the Imprint with Heath; Erik had broken up with her; and Loren was dead. And even though she knew that Loren had just been using her to get information to pass on to Neferet, his death had still hurt – and not just the physical pain because she'd Imprinted on him. Zoey had really believed that he loved her...

Of course, now that Zoey thought about it, she could see that Loren had played his part perfectly; coming to her at a time when she felt emotional and like she needed someone. Of course, that didn't mean she was blameless in the fact, but...

And then there were the murders. Zoey still had no idea exactly what was going on, but she was even more convinced that the People of Faith – and her step-loser – were involved in it. But without proof, there was nothing she could do about it. And even though her mom was being nothing but a bitch to her, Zoey still didn't want her to suffer.

Not if she could help it, anyway.

And at least Stevie Rae was alive, even if she had Changed. Zoey just wasn't sure what she had changed into – though she guessed it was another type of Vampyre. And Stevie Rae had seemed much more like her old self – though she probably wouldn't have been if Aphrodite had been killed. Then again, it wasn't like the rest of them really liked Aphrodite. And what if Neferet tried to find Aphrodite? Would the High Priestess kill both her and Stevie Rae?

Sighing, Zoey wiped the back of her hand across her eyes. She'd messed up so badly. Sure, she'd managed to save her best friend – but she'd made so many other mistakes. What if Nyx decided that she wasn't the one she wanted anymore? Zoey hadn't actually seen any sign of herself falling out of favour with the goddess – but how could she tell? And she'd lost the rest of her friends because she'd kept secrets from them...

Sighing lightly, Zoey rolled over onto her stomach and buried her face in her arms, ignoring the disgruntled growl from Nala. Though she knew she wasn't likely to go to sleep, she still figured she might as well try a different position. It was late... early... whatever. If she didn't sleep now, she'd be really tired later.

The soft knock on her door startled Zoey into jerking upright. Her first thought was that it was Neferet outside her door, finally come to kill her once and for all. But as soon as that thought came to her, she knew it was stupid. There was no way Neferet would risk exposing herself inside the House of Night, when they had all of the bodyguards there as well. Even if she was just coming to talk, there wasn't much she could do – and Zoey had faith that Nyx would protect her.

"I'm awake. Come on in."

The door was slowly pushed open, and Erik stepped through, closing the door behind him. "Do you want to explain to me exactly what's going on with Neferet?" he demanded, speaking in a harsh whisper.

"You're not supposed to be in here!" Zoey hissed.

"Just don't talk too loudly, and we'll be fine." Erik stepped over to her, ignoring the sleepy growl Nala gave him. "I take it she's responsible for what happened to Stevie Rae. Want to explain why you couldn't tell your _friends_ what was going on?"

"You know what Neferet's like – and you know that she can pick thoughts out of a Fledgling's mind. Well, every Fledgling except for me and Aphrodite, that is. That's the only reason I told her and not any of you." In spite of herself, Zoey's voice shook a little. Even though she knew that she hadn't had a choice, she still regretted that she'd lied to them all. "And... you were right about Loren. He didn't even like me. He was with Neferet, and she got him to sleep with me so that I'd tell him what I knew... and he could tell her."

"I'm sorry," Erik said, his tone cold.

Zoey flinched. "I'm not... I know I don't deserve to be forgiven, but Erik... I really am sorry. I wish I hadn't done it. Not with Loren; not with Heath. You were... more than patient with me, and I didn't do the right thing. And I'm sorry, Erik. If I could go back and change everything, I would. Neferet even told me that if I told anyone what happened, she'd make sure no one believed me. It's not an excuse, but..."

While Zoey had been talking, Erik narrowed his eyes. Then, he seemed to come to a decision. He stepped over to the bed and sat down next to her. "I don't know if I can ever trust you again, Zoey, but... I'd like to try, at least. I'd like to be able to forgive you. But I don't want to be in a romantic relationship with you again."

Lowering her head, Zoey wondered just what it was Erik wanted her to do. A part of her thought that she'd be willing to do _anything_ just to even be able to get Erik's friendship back. But she knew that mending things with Erik was only part of it. She still had to make it up to the rest of her friends – and she had no idea of how to do that.

As if he were able to sense something of what she was thinking, Erik spoke again. "The others are mad at you – but I think that they'll eventually forgive you. So long as you can prove that they can trust you to tell the truth. And that means you have to tell them about Neferet."

"No! I can't do that!" Zoey recoiled sharply, unable to understand why Erik was suggesting something that would get them all killed. "Neferet will read their minds, and once she's got everything she needs, she'll kill them."

"Zoey, hasn't it occurred to you that you can ask Nyx to protect their minds? Your tattoos prove that you're in favour with her, and she gave Damien, Shaunee, Stevie Rae, and Erin power over the elements. She isn't going to let Neferet kill them."

Zoey opened her mouth, and then closed it again. She hadn't thought about that, and she realised that she should have. "You're right. That should have occurred to me." And after she'd prayed to Nyx, she would finally tell her friends the truth. Maybe if she explained everything to them, they'd see that, although she'd made some mistakes, she'd been trying to protect them. "Erik... I really did think you were dying. And it really did upset me."

Erik sighed and just shook his head. Then, he looked at her. "I want you to use your power over the elements to silence this room."

Since she was so eager to please him, Zoey said a prayer to mask all sounds before she thought to ask Erik why he wanted her to do that. "Do we need to talk about something private?"

"Not exactly." Erik took hold of Zoey's wrists. For a few moments, he just stroked his thumbs over them, studying her hands. Then, he sighed lightly. "I'm going to punish you. You really hurt me, Zoey. I don't think you understand just how much." As he spoke, he pulled her across his lap, settling her there.

"Erik... please." Zoey tensed slightly as he lifted her skirt and folded it over onto her back. When he pulled her knickers down, the air on her bottom made her shiver, and goose bumps rise on her flesh. She felt vulnerable and exposed in this position, and half-expected Nyx to force Erik to stop. But as soon as she thought that, her instincts told her that Nyx believed this was necessary.

The first smack landed across both of Zoey's cheeks. The crack was so loud in the room that she expected someone to come in and see what the noise was, despite the room being soundproofed. But she wasn't given much of a chance to worry about that, because the next hard smack landed sharply in the centre of her right cheek. She jerked slightly when another landed on her left cheek.

Erik fell into a rhythm, smacking each cheek three times before moving onto the next place. It didn't take long for Zoey to be wriggling and squirming, with the spanking heating up her behind and a few tears started. When Erik tipped her up slightly so that he could smack the tender crease where her bottom met thigh, Zoey couldn't help gasping a little. A few squeals escaped her, as even more tears fell down her cheeks. And when Erik increased the speed and intensity behind the swats, Zoey finally went limp and just sobbed.

For a few moments, Erik just rubbed her back. There was a gentleness to his touch that hadn't been there before, and finally, he gathered her into his arms and held her close. "You know we'll all help you. You haven't completely lost your friends," he whispered in her ear. "We're all right here, just waiting for you to admit you need us."

**The End**


End file.
